How to Write a Press Release

As you sit on the water-lapped shore, you steadily place a squirming worm onto the sharp point of the hook. You look out at the still lake, locating your lucky destination, and pull the line away with your forefinger. You angle your arms back to the right, hold it for a second, and then whish! You snap it over your head and out toward the target, the line flying like a diving pelican. A small splash as it hits the water, and the line sinks down and down until you snap it shut. Then, you wait.

            Writing a press release can mirror this scenario. When you send out a press release, you are trying to hook the biggest fish, or, when the catch is sparse, simply bait any fish that will latch on for the long haul back to shore. Of course, a fish in this case means a journalist or some other news source. You don’t want your press release to be dismissed with a glance but rather read and rewritten into a news story or announcement. However, with so many other fishermen at your lake, how do you get the fish to bite your bait instead of theirs?

            Well, first of all, you need the proper gear. You can’t have a fishing pole that’s bent or a line that’s all tangled. Everything needs to be in proper order, and you need all the right parts. Both this site and this other site give helpful guidelines for the right “gear,” or format, for a press release. First and foremost, it is vital that you put the company logo on your press release, along with your contact information: address, phone number, website, email. For the best consistency, make a header/footer that includes this info so you can use it for every press release. This also creates a type of visual ID tag so that journalists will come to associate the “look” of your press release with your company. It is also important to put your information, the press release author, and other contact info on the page. Other standard formatting guidelines include:

• Use a standard font, such as Times New Roman

• Add page numbers if more than one

• Release date at beginning of body

• Title in a bigger font

• Title in bold

• Cap All Words in Title Except Articles and Prepositions Like a, and, the, over, with, etc.

• Add a subtitle under the title. Put in italics and the same font and size as body

Now for the bait. The content of the article is your precious bait. You have to make it appealing. You have to make it more appealing than all the other fishermen’s baits. How do you make your press release bait that the journalists will bite?

Title

          The title is one of the most important aspects of your press release. It needs to present the initial attraction that will spark the interest of the fish. To simply catch the fish’s eye, the title text needs to be:

• Capitalized (only uppercase the beginning letter of the major words and lowercase articles and prepositions)

• Centered

• A bigger font size than body text

• Bold text

For example, the title “MovFitness helps community stay fit by sponsoring charity race for cancer research” should look like this in a press release: “MovFitness Helps Community Stay Fit by Sponsoring Charity Race for Cancer Research.” The actual content of the headline needs to be concise, which means short and to the point. But it also needs to have a little flare. Some sources argue that it is better not to put the company’s name in the headline; others say that naming the company in the title is a must. It is probably best, if the company is not mentioned in the headline, to somehow fit the name into the subtitle or the first sentence of the body. Also, try to insert key words from the body into the text, if possible, to improve search engine results.

Subtitle

The subtitle is a good way to elaborate on the information in the title. What you had to cut down to make the title brief, you can add to the subheadline , just keep it short-sentence length.

Body

The body is what brings all the components together. The body is the hook hidden beneath the bait. The body is what captures the attention of a journalist to write a story about the info in the press release, or, at least, remember the name of your company. So make sure the meat of the body is conveyed properly for this effect. The content of the body needs to be newsworthy. It should announce an important event, such as a product release, an anniversary, an important event, etc. Do not write press releases about insignificant things. PR websites will ban your releases (they will think it is advertising), and journalists will associate your business with desperation. Additionally, the content needs to get to the point. It should give clear, interesting information and answer the vital questions: who, what, when, where, why, and how. Here are some more particular guidelines for relaying that information:

• Start body with the date and city that the press release comes from

• Use short, to-the-point sentences

• Use a common vocabulary – no fancy words

• Try to avoid the jargon of your company’s niche; instead, make it conversational

• Avoid repitition

• Double space the text

• Proofread carefully so you have no grammar or spelling errors

• Let your first paragraph get to the point of your press release. Any other information should expand on the first couple sentences

• Keep paragraphs short in length. This is more appealing for the eye

• Write from an objective perspective

• Try to make the press release one page length, maximum 3 pages.

Closing

            At the conclusion of your press release, have an “About (your company)” section that gives a bio of your company, especially detailing the primary business purpose of the company. Again, keep the bio concise. Under the bio, add the contact info for the author of the press release from the company: name, position, phone number, email and/or website.

            At the very end of the press release, add three “pound” signs centered underneath the last sentence. An example is shown below.

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How To Get The Job You Really Want

Have you ever applied for a job, but never heard back from the company? It is possible that they did not find your resume and cover letter up to their expectations, but you can avoid this problem in the future. Matt Hackney, CEO of MOVFitness, was gracious enough to share some insight into what bosses look for when reading cover letters and resumes. Although he says that without a good cover letter, no one will even read your resume, you must construct a strong resume before beginning your cover letter.

Resumes

Contrary to popular belief, when a company is hiring, they are not looking to fill an open position, but they are expanding the business. When a potential employer looks at your resume, he or she wants to know how you will make them money. They also want to know that you will stay with the company permanently. Your resume should tell the hiring agent that you are an investment. For instance, if you were a lifeguard at the YMCA, rather than writing, “I handled cash, interacted with customers, and taught swimming lessons,” provide an example of how you were able to make the Y money, or how you expand their programs. Being able to write, “while I was a lifeguard at the YMCA I used my free time to voluntarily start a mother and infant water communication program that is still running,” shows that you to take initiative and create satiable programs.

Even if you did not start new programs, another great way to show your value is through progression. This means working for the same company over a longer period of time and gradually moving up. If you were hired as a concession stand worker, were promoted to lifeguard, and then promoted to lifeguard manager, this reflects your ability to stay with a company and your ability to handle more responsibilities.

If you were a volunteer, rather than writing, “volunteered 30 hours a week,” write about programs you started or the ways you helped your organization flourish. Maybe you were in charge of fundraising and before you came, the charity only brought in $8,000 a year on their various charitable events, but under your direction, annual revues increased to $16,000 a year. It is this type of proactive work that employers are seeking when they look at resumes. These types of projects also show that you can be an employee and not a boss. They show that you can lead, but you do not have to have that coveted leadership position to be able to do a great job.

Hackney also feels that everyone, regardless of their job title, should be published somewhere. If you are a lifeguard at the YMCA, you should at least write blurbs about the swimming program in the monthly newsletter. Having this on your resume shows potential employers that you know how to be creative, and you can make your company money in more than one area.

Cover Letters

When a new employee is first hired, no matter how great they are, there is always a three-month learning curve.  A cover letter shows the hiring agent that you spent at least an hour of your time researching the company, and you are truly interested in the company’s goals. It shows that you are worth that initial three-month training/orientation. Before you write your cover letter, read over the company’s website, Google the company, find out all you can about the company. Then, pick the elements you like most about the company and tell how you will use your skills and knowledge to help in that area. In other words, your cover letter should show that you are offering exactly what the company is looking for.  Again, an employer is looking for someone who plans to stay with the company, and the effort you put into your cover letter shows your dedication and interest in the company. Under no circumstances should you use a generic cover letter - each cover letter you write should be tailored to the company and job you apply for.

Network

Every employee is a salesperson. When you work for a company, the more people you tell about that company (in a good manner) the more potential clients you create for the company. If you are the editor of a small magazine, you want to be able to say that you raised sales from $100,000 a year to $500,000 a year over the course of your employment. However, increased sales will not happen overnight, and that is where networking comes in. As the editor, rather than just sitting in the office working nine to five, you should spend time teaching creative writing or college writing skills classes at the local community college. This type of work-related extra curricular activity builds your business network and creates potential employees and clients.

Also, rather than going to a bar with a bunch of people who feel trapped in dead-end jobs, join an affluent club or organization in your community. Purchase season tickets to the opera and attend. During intermission, work the crowd, when you introduce yourself, mention your company and what you do. You never know, the next person you met might be in the market for a publishing house. Introducing them to your company could bring in a new client and boost your company’s sales. Always present yourself in a good capacity and remember to conduct yourself professionally at all times.

Online Identity

Upgrade your email. Potential employers will skip over your resume if your email is ritasat6@yahoo.com. Your firstnamelastname@gmail.com is a quick and easy was to remedy this problem.

Google yourself; hiring agents do. In fact, at some universities, academic advisors and professors Google their students. Professors have been known to come into class and rattle off the questionable materials they found after Googling their students. Go to your MySpace, Facebook, or any other account you have and remove pictures of you and your friends partying and any other questionable materials. If you are not sure, take it down anyway.

When blogging, use the same caution and care that you would if you were writing for work. Check each post for spelling and grammatical errors. Remove anything that alienates an individual or group of people because of their religious views, race, or sexual orientation.

As you can see, presenting your potential employer with a well-rounded picture of the added value you would bring to their company is the key to getting the job you really want. Although it is simple, the process goes far beyond just creating a resume.

When I was 9 years old, there was a huge fad in school to have little worms, spiders, and other creepy things constructed from multicolored glue. It was really big among my sister’s class, as she was a year younger than me. For Christmas, she received a Creepy Crawler set so she could make her own. Our family was by no means wealthy and this was the highlight of her Christmas. After she made two worms, and one spider for herself and then one for each of her best friends, she was all out of ink and the little machine sat in the corner. The ink and glue for the crawlers was a bit expensive and my mother, who raised us on her own, couldn’t afford to get her more glue to keep the toy running.

The next week at school, I noticed how many girls were excited about these creepy little beasts. It seemed my sister was the only one who got a machine to make them for Christmas. I asked her, “Would you like to make some more creepy crawlers?” She had been bummed all week about not being able to use the machine.

She reluctantly replied, “Yeah, but I don’t have any more glue.”

I said, “Well, I’ll make you a deal. I’ll get your glue if you make creepy crawlers for me, what do you think?”

She was excited because she could get back to her new toy. With only two dollars weekly allowance though, I had to save up to get her glue. But that was ok – I had a plan.  In the next month, I saved all of my weekly allowances and had enough money to buy three bottles of glue. Not a lot, but it was a start. I gave the glue to my sister and said, “Alright, make whatever you want. I want the first 15 you make and then you can have the rest.”

“Alright,” she said with a big smile on her face.

It didn’t take her long to get to work.  She made her first eight creepy crawlers that night and was so excited that she brought them all to me to show her creations.  She had blue spiders with red dots, green caterpillars with bumps all over their backs, and then a lot of beetles.  I was actually impressed, she put a lot of time into them!  I said, “So, which are your favorite three?”

“Well, I really like the black beetle.  I was going to keep it for myself, but thought I could do another one later that is like it.  I’m not sure about the others, I don’t like the spiders or caterpillars,” she stated quite frankly.

“Ok, tell you what.  I’ll hold onto these and when you make the other seven, I’ll give you back the beetle and now that you’re getting pretty good, start working on some that you think you’d like, ok?”

“Ok,”she smiled and ran back to her room to do some more, even though it was already eleven on a school night.

The next morning she was in the kitchen making some oatmeal with a big smile on her face.  She had finished the remaining seven after I went to sleep and had them all laying out on the kitchen table.  They were even more impressive than the ones I saw the night before.  She was definitely getting better with the machine.  “Wow, these look great!  Pick one other one out of this group and I’ll bring the black beetle upstairs, too.” I said.

She picked another and I gave her the beetle.  Overall, I had thirteen creepy crawlers and I loaded them in my backpack and took them to school.  They were a hit.  I sold them for $1 each and brought home $13 my first day, selling every one!  I had enough money to get three more bottles of glue and enough money left over to make up for my allowance I had spent before.  Over the next few weeks, my sister made over two hundred creepy crawlers.  I’ll never forget bringing in $182 in that first month with the creepy crawlers.  My investment definitely paid off and I was so happy to have my first company and first employee at age 8. 

Eighteen years later, I still don’t know all the secrets to business, but I have realized I have a niche for delegating tasks and making money all while enjoying life.  The Summit of Success will teach you these techniques I’ve used over the years and the skills I’ve developed from the beginning when running my creepy crawler business all the way until now where I own six businesses, invest in stocks, and have published five books as a renown face in the world of fitness.

One languid summer day in Santa Barbara, I received a phone call.

“I would rather look like Princess Leia,” the voice stated on the phone.

“Rather than what?” I asked.

“Rather than Jabba the Hutt,” she replied gloomily.

“Well,” I questioned. “Do you have limbs?”

“Of course,” was her answer.

“Then that should be easy,” I remarked.

The self-proclaimed Jabba the Hutt on the phone was actually an aspiring actress named Liza. After being frustrated by numerous role rejections, which were later given to JLo-fit women, she became determined to say farewell to her favorite pastimes of beer, pizza, daytime soap operas, and her green microfiber sofa. She went on a strict no-carb diet and hit the treadmill. After two days of feeling starved, exhausted, and angry with her career choice, she plopped on her couch, pressed PowerOn, and ordered delivery while sipping her favorite lager. Hello old friends, goodbye Princess Leia.

A week later Liza decided she couldn’t do it on her own – she needed help. As Liza sat talking to her help, me, and answering some of my questions, I began to sum up the situation. One, her motivation to get fit was external – the fat-hating Hollywood. Two, she had no previous experience with good nutrition and exercise habits. Three, she tried to be perfect on her first attempt to change these habits, and four, when she became frustrated with her struggles to be perfect, she quit. Although Liza may have countless good qualities to her character, slacking off, or excuse-making, was one of her challenging ones.

Liza hadn’t so much as walked a mile in ten years, but on her first day I took her on an hour-long walk on the beach. Her boxer Sammy accompanied us. She had a tough time. After two weeks of hour-long walks three to four times a week, I took her on one with a slight incline. As she became accustomed to that, I told her that in two months I wanted her to hike Rattlesnake Canyon, a steep nine-mile roundtrip hike. For the next month, I moved her from walking slight inclines to decent-sized hills. The month after that, I had her begin to jog slowly on the beach. Two weeks later, she was running up slight hills. The following month, I had her hike halfway up Rattlesnake Canyon and then hike back. She did this a few more times, and at the end of the month, she conquered the entire nine-mile hike.

But she was not done. The next day, I informed her that I wanted her to run a local 5k race that was taking place in three months in under 25 minutes. She looked at me, aghast. I intentionally told her 25 minutes (a time I new was above and beyond her current capabilities) so she would work even harder. I had noted so far during our training that she would work hard when I was around, but for training sessions without me, she either didn’t go at all or gave a pathetic effort. I wanted to get her motivated to give a consistent good effort throughout the week, instead of just one or two times a week. I started her on more cross-training exercises, like kettlebells and boxing, so she wouldn’t get bored. Her training started progressing into a more consistent regiment. And although on race day she actually did quite well, running the race in 27 minutes, I still acted slightly disappointed and compared her to faster runners so she wouldn’t limit herself to that one achievement. I kicked up her training a notch and told her to start competing in two races a week.

Eventually, Liza became a well-known running competitor in town. But I didn’t stop there. I started having her train others. She completed my certification program and started training others, not only for a little extra cash while she tried to make it as an actress but also to keep herself in the Princess Leiaesque shape she had acquired.

            How did I get Liza to go from couch potato to top local competitor and trainer? It’s all about perception. You have to tweak your client’s perception of reality. Michael Jordan stated, “My attitude is that if you push me towards something that you think is a weakness, then I will turn that perceived weakness into a strength.”  With a small changeup of pronouns, this quote gives you a guideline as a trainer. You need to have this attitude: “If I push my client towards something that she thinks is a perceived weakness in herself, I need to turn that perceived weakness into a strength.” If your client is an excuse maker, like Liza, this means taking her perceived weakness – quitting when it gets hard– into a strength – wanting to push harder.

            Notice how I didn’t start Liza with failure.  Had I, she would have perceived training with me as impossible. Instead, I implemented a program of slow progression with her. I started with doable goals for her weight and fitness level. I waited until she adapted to walking and then moved her on to walking up hills. When she adapted to that, I moved forward from walking up hills to slow jogging on flat ground. In this particular step of progression, she was degressing as well. She did move from walking to jogging; however, she went from going uphill back staying on flat terrain. You often need to degress with your client in order to attain progress. Think in terms of a growing tree. For a tree to grow upward, its roots must extend downward. Likewise, I needed to make sure that Liza was growing a big and deep enough foundation to support and maintain her progress.

             Additionally, Liza’s progress was being stifled by inconsistent habits. She would go all out only one or two times and then give herself an unwarranted break for the entire rest of the week, not working out at all. She was yo-yoing. This was a reflection of her perception, which understood exercise as an end and not a means to an end. In order to get her past her self-stunting excuse-making, I needed to change her perception, stay a step ahead of her. This is when I told her to run the 5k. However, I also needed to start pushing her harder in our training sessions to lead her toward a level of competing. She had a good enough foundation to really get into gear, but because she was an excuse maker, the practical implementation of this required a little bit of trickery on my part. In my next training hour with her, the day I planned on telling her about the 5k, I made sure to tweak her perception within the actual session and waited until the end of the session to fiddle with her long-term perspective. Here’s how the session played out:

Perception change # 1:

“Alright Liza,” I said with confidence. “You’re going to run twelve stadiums today.” She looked at me like I was crazy, but I knew that I was already one step ahead of her. I really wanted only nine stadiums, but I told her twelve so that her “quitting early” would really be quitting right on schedule.

Perception change #2:

After two stadiums, she was tired and breathing hard. For the third stadium, I had her walk, skipping steps. She thought she was getting a break from the original training program, but I had planned it all along as resistance training for the day’s workout.

Perception change #3:

I had her continue the run/walk pattern for two more stadiums. While she struggled through the fourth stadium, I walked alongside her, showing her breathing techniques to control the air going in and out of her lungs, distracting her slightly from the pain and also teaching her something new that makes her feel a tidbit more in control of her body.

Perception change #4:

Even though I said not until the sixth stadium, I gave her a short break after the fourth. She thought she was getting off easier when this was also what I planned all along.

Perception change #5:

I had her run the next stadium, the fifth, advising her to focus on the breathing techniques I showed her earlier. Again, her focus on the pain of the exercise was distracted slightly by her concentration on breathing.

Perception change #6:

After that she was really tired. So I gave her the biggest self-interest motivation: If she beat me to the top running every step while I walked every other step, I would subtract a stadium, decreasing from twelve to eleven total. She gave it her all on this one.

Perception change #7:

I saw that she really gave it her all on the previous stadium. I repeated the same deal but didn’t shave another off the “fake” total. She realized that if she legitimately gave her all for this seventh stadium, I would be more than likely give her bigger breaks.

Perception change #8:

I had her walk the next one, skipping steps. She thought I was cutting her slack, but again, she was getting resistance training.

Perception change #9:

The ninth stadium was the last I wanted her to do, but she was starting to complain. I gave her an ultimatum: if she ran really fast, this would be the last one. If not, I would add another stadium and push-ups. Although it wasn’t much, she pushed herself on this last one. I called it a day.

Perception change #10 :

As we said our goodbyes, I told Liza that I wanted her to run a local 5k in three months. In that instant I raised her perception another notch, heightening her goals from running nine stadiums to running a race. By being a step ahead of her and focusing her mind on a bigger challenge, I dropkicked the possibility in her head of getting the rest of the week “off” – she had to prepare for a race now.

The numerous distractions and tricks I threw Liza’s way only helped her performance in the workout. I perceived her weakness - quitting when the going gets rough - and turned it into a strength by getting her mind to believe she was getting huge breaks throughout the workout. In her mind, doing two more stadiums to reach eleven would have been impossible. If I had given her the real total of only nine stadiums, she would have wanted to give up much earlier. By telling her she had it worse, I actually made the workout session better.

However, I could not end there. Remember that while you are modifying a client’s perception, as a trainer you need to constantly be checking in on your own perspective. You need to stay in touch with your client and read their personality. If you have a client who can give 100% consistently, she does not need the “fakeout” of saying twelve stadiums when you really want nine. She needs the full twelve-stadium challenge, if not more. As a client progresses, you need to keep challenging her. Have her enter additional races and other competitions. As she slowly masters this, move on to the last element: training others. When Liza finally got to a place of consistently good performance of competing frequently, when she could rely on her own perception to push her, I still needed to push her one step further. I told her I thought she would make a great trainer and advised her to enter my certification program. When she passed that, I hired her as a trainer. At the end of all this, Liza not only had achieved her desired fitness goals but also had generated the habits to remain fit throughout her life. And one of her new greatest satisfactions was helping others achieve these same happy results and being paid for it!

On another note for trainers, do not use the concept of perception is reality just for excuse makers. It is a vital tactic for any client because you always want to take your client to the next level. However, there is an alternate level to focus on: instead of trickery, give awareness. Pretend I have one new client, Ben, who does exercise throughout the week, albeit minimally. He tells me that he frequents the gym, with a regiment of ten minutes on the treadmill, ten pushups, and ten lunges. A star trainer will ultimately lead Ben to a possible workout for an Olympic athlete. So first, I progress him through several levels, like this:

High school athlete level

• Thirty lunges, twenty pushups, jog a mile

College athlete level

• Jumping lunges, crunches holding a twenty-pound weight, pushups with a twenty-pound weight on his back, five 400 meter sprints

Competitive athlete (professional, Olympic) level

• Jumping lunges carrying a one hundred-pound weight, crunches holding a fifty-pound weight, pushups with a one hundred-pound weight on his back, and then five 400 meter sprints, five 200 meter sprints, and five 100 meter sprints, all with a parachute

Of course, progress like this would occur over the course of many months, but throughout it I am instilling in Ben a perception of reality for a more competitive lifestyle, giving him awareness of a higher level at each step.

The concept of perception is reality is not limited to the world of athletics and fitness. It can also be applied to the business realm. My personal training business did not start out as a giant, leafy, shady tree. It began as a skinny stick with measly roots. First, I started out training my high school friends who were trying to gain weight and muscle for free. Then, I helped their parents lose weight, no charge. Between three of my friends’ parents, they lost 150 pounds in a year. As I witnessed this success, a new perception emerged in my mind - my training knowledge and ability to coach others was valuable! I soaked up this perception like water, and my roots and tree trunk grew. My friend’s father, who was a doctor, saw the successful results of my training and asked for a consultation with me. Now that my roots and trunk had grown and I had a stronger foundation of confidence, I charged him sixty dollars for a consultation. With the information I had given him in an hour, he lost forty pounds on his own. As I heard and witnessed more triumphant testimonials from clients, I started raising my rates, working my way up over the years from $100 per session to $800 per session. I started training models, Fortune 500 CEO’s, and even professional athletes. Today, my tree provides a great deal of shade, i.e., I have an abundance of leaves or “success stories,” so I charge $2,500 for a consultation. But I still do not want to stop there. I have taught a few seminars, and after I have done a few more and develop a confident perception of myself as a seminar speaker, I plan on offering $20,000 seminar package to corporations.

Your entrepreneurial endeavors can benefit greatly from a tree growth-like progress and keeping one step ahead of yourself. Just as you wouldn’t expect to run a 5k in under twenty-five minutes with no previous training, you should not expect your endeavor to start a business to be perfectly successful on your first try. Expectations like these could potentially cause you to squash all your other entrepreneurial ambitions if they swallowed by failure on your first try. Additionally, your business to not have to be perfectly mapped out and structured in order for you to start it. It’s alright to be honest and admit you’re in the beginning stage of your company. Better to get it started and improve the business as you go along, learning from your mistakes, than delay starting for five years while you try to get your ducks in a geometrically straight row. Especially if you’re in the service industry, get started quickly. But, you ask, how do I get clientele if I have no one to vouch on my behalf? Well, start out performing your service for free, like I did. If you’re a trainer, try helping your friends with their fitness goals. Then perhaps move on to their parents. If they experience success with you leading them, than you can get testimonies and start charging per hour. If not, you can keep tweaking your program until they do experience success with you. In this way, your perception is constantly being changed by the actual experience you are getting – your own training for training others. As your training methods lead more and more people to their fitness goals, you can slowly start increasing your rate. It is important to continue raising your rates and your own personal abilities of your service so your business can keep growing. Otherwise, you are setting a cap on yourself, putting limits on your success. Also, expand your clientele. Don’t be afraid to branch out. You can keep your current social network and have a new one.

            Overall, in the territories of business or training, a change of perception creates vitality, whether it be your own perception or a client’s that needs altering. It keeps raising the bar, continuing to challenge yourself to perform better than you could have expected. It continually raises your knowledge and confidence. Furthermore, it keeps things moving and interesting. Perceive yourself in the success you strive for, and when you reach it, perceive yourself at an even higher level of success, greater than you could have previously imagined, infusing your life with continual achievement.

How should you climb Mt. Everest?

A. Pack a big backpack and take it straight from the bottom to the top

B. Take a small group of friends, all with their packs, and go to the top.

C. Climb a smaller mountain, wait a month, and then climb Everest.

D. Get together a group of 40 people, and head for the top, allowing them to turn away if they want.

D is the correct answer. Why? Because it involves sharing success.

The person breaking the snow goes slower, but it allows the weaker people to get farther, which in turn gives you the help you need to reach the top. They won’t be able to get all the way to the top, but they’ll help you get 25% of the way. The best will help you 50% of the way, and the best of the best will take you 75% of the way. You’re the only one who can get you 100% of the way. By sharing your success, it brings you more success. As a personal trainer, to have a real million dollar client, you need lots of non-million dollar clients.

To expand on the Everest climbing analogy, however, you don’t want to take just any 40 people, you want to take the 40 people who will help you the most. So you start by climbing a small mountain five times, with a different group of forty every time. Maybe half of those will reach the top. Now you have a 100 people—take them to the top of a higher mountain, like Mt. Whitney. Out of those, maybe 40 will make it. Those are the 40 you would take with you to Base Camp 1 of Everest. You want to have the weakest people carry the least weight, so you don’t tire them out too fast, and it keeps the stronger people in shape. Then you all go up in stages, take turns breaking ground. If you don’t share your success, you’re just playing the lottery.

So if you’re building a personal training service, you would start out with someone with less experience than you and tell them, for example, “If you work for me for a while, I’ll get you certified.” Then tell them that if they make that first step, you’ll talk about that second step.

You want to increase the quality of people you’re working with. Everest has four base camps; you always want to be working with the people one “base camp” lower than you, no lower. You can’t preach to someone on the same level as you. If you continue to work with people at the bottom of the mountain, it will hold you back. Just work with the people just below your level. They’ll get more successful as you get more successful.

Some people won’t ever get very high up your particular mountain of success. But don’t discredit them; you still need them. You won’t be respected if you don’t have a lot of people on that first base case—which shows that you are capable of helping them get there. Even if you’re at the bottom of your mountain, you can still find someone lower down than you. And talk about where you’re going, and like they’re standing where you are now.

The mountain is always getting higher; the more people you bring almost to the top with you, the higher it gets, and the more successful you will be.

Sell + DEEP + Close = Success

Introduction

Imagine a personal trainer, Jim, approaches you in a gym and offers his services, but as the discussion progresses about his training methods you are surprised to learn that he does not follow the diet he gives his clients. Who wants to learn and train from someone who does not follow their own practices? The initial trust and belief you may have had in Jim’s services is now shaken from the fact that he doesn’t practice what he preaches and you choose not to accept his services.

We all have something to teach and pass on to the world and must learn how to do this in a positive, unquestionable manner.  You can not pass on information unless you are trusted and believed, to be able to do that requires the ability to market your services. Each task leads to the next and success with a client is not possible unless each part of the equation Sell + DEEP + Close is met.

To be an effective trainer you have to be able to market yourself, the product, and your ability to motivate. This requires you to relate to your audience, so take the time to get to know them and you’ll be able to sell yourself, much like we edit a resume for a specific job. There is a thin line with marketing and sales however, not to mislead or falsify information because as with all communication once the trust is lost you can not bring it back.

In the world of health, to market your services, ideas, and product means to market yourself. How can someone believe that your method is the best, when you yourself won’t follow it? Ultimately, if you’re making a business out of personal training, you need to be able to sell your services to people just as much as you need to be able to motivate them to succeed (see Past, Present, Future).

You want to start out by making a friend. Talk about them. Be open and friendly. Remember your first goal is to make a friend, not teach them something. Don’t lose your sensitivity to the newness of the situation—you may have done this a hundred times, but they haven’t. Stay aware of how they’re feeling. Ask them about their line of work, or talk about an area they’re familiar with. 10% of people might know what you’re doing here, but 90% will have no clue.

Return to Sally and Jim; Jim may have taken the time to talk to Sally, “Hi Sally, how are you, I’ve noticed you here in the gym a lot and wanted to see if you were interested in a personal trainer.” Jim gives Sally the option of refusing his services piquing her interest and allowing him time to gauge her mood. Sally may be in a hurry and not in the mod to listen to a sales pitch or perhaps she doesn’t mind listening to Jim as she works through her normal workout routine, she may not answer or give a little noncommittal nod to indicate Jim can continue with his speech.Jim may continue by asking Sally a list of questions, “I see you have a set schedule, do you come to the gym at the same time every day? What kind of results are you looking for in your workout? Would you be interested in a demonstration or video of my work?” Jim gives Sally time to ask and answer questions and before long a dialogue is open.

Let’s assume that Sally isn’t interested, Jim should have some information ready to give to her if he thinks she is in an open frame of mind, or let her know where his information is located, a website, or brochure that Sally can use should she change her mind about hiring a personal trainer. Either method; materials or discussion still allow the prospective customer to get to know you and for you to get to know them.

Ultimately, encourage them to talk and then listen. People are going to care more about themselves than about you—that’s just how it works, out lives revolve around what we know, and prospective clients don’t know you. Connect what you know about them to what you’re doing, and by making that personal connection you free them up to ask questions back. If they’re a dentist, maybe talk about some of your own experiences in dentistry, or another client who also works in the field and how they’ve found this a good way to take a break from work. Show that you understand their unique situation, no matter what your personal feelings are; understanding allows people to attempt to explain themselves or their situation.

Sally may only take a brochure from Jim and think, I am doing okay and don’t need a trainer, my workout routine works for me. But perhaps after a few weeks of noticing poor results she reconsiders and gives Jim a call, she want’s to see some of his work and talk to him about options that might work for her. By reading Sally’s body language and seeing the best way to communicate with her Jim has gained a prospective client and can now open discourse with Sally or even a demonstration.

You want to set a good example for them; while you are working out, show good form and talk while doing it—make it look like it’s easy for you. This is all part of demonstrating that you’re an expert, and selling them on your qualifications.

Sell

The first part of the equation is simple, what do you want to sell. For example, someone is trying personal training out and you want to sell them more sessions. But you can’t just say, “Here’s what I do… interested?” You have to really convince them that it’s something they want and need; don’t confuse this with misleading or miscommunication, once again lying to a client is no way to win their trust or business. 

Many of us, whether we realize it or not, are used to selling ideas or making persuasive arguments in our daily routine; we often try to convince friends or coworkers that we are “right” or that “our way” is better than “their way.” Advertising and marketing is consistently persuading clientele to choose one brand or style of product, i.e. Avon versus Mary Kay; Ford versus Chevrolet; and Home Depot versus Lowes the list can go on and on. For trainers and coaches the idea is slightly different, you are trying to persuade a client to incorporate lifestyle changes and sell yourself, it is the personal trainer versus the group membership at the local YMCA; the difference “your” way versus the “clients” way.

So how do you convince someone that “your” way is healthier than “their” way? How do you sell someone on the idea that a personal trainer they have just met really does know what changes are best for a healthy living? First, you identify what you are selling, is it the healthy lifestyle, your training methods, or the ideology that they can use on a daily basis. Identification allows you to know exactly what areas about your client you need to understand and focus on those areas. After all, you don’t get to know a client in the first ten minutes you meet them, but you do need to understand them in the first ten minutes to get them to buy what you are selling.

Jim, the personal trainer, meets Sally at a local Jim and wants to see if he can persuade her to be a client. Jim may watch Sally exercise take a few minutes to se what kind of learner she is (see The Three Main Types of Learners), and even chat to her for a few minutes to get an idea of what she focuses on for her workout. Jim then approaches Sally to pitch his idea to her with a better understanding of what she is looking for and how he can help, in effect, Jim has tailored his ideology to meet Sally’s.  Instead of approaching with, “Hi, my name is Jim, a personal trainer who works with diabetics, interested?” Jim may approach, Jim may approach stating,“Hi my name is Jim and I noticed that you are wearing a diabetic bracelet on your arm and just wanted to offer my services. I am a personal trainer who works specifically with health-related issues and if you have any questions please feel free to approach me.”

Another example would be that Jim wants to sell his ideology and have Sally attend is training classes at his gym, he is now trying to persuade Sally to leave her gym, not necessarily adding him on as a trainer which the previous scenario allowed. Jim would still observe and perhaps chat to Sally during her workout, but he may notice that her ideals don’t fit in with the ideals or training methods of his gym, she adheres to a three-meal diet where Jim’s training incorporates a six-meal plan. Or perhaps Sally is adamant about the training system she is already working on, Jim may know that trying to sell an idea to someone unwilling to listen may waste his time and Sally’s.  Jim can offer his information as just that, information and focus on other clients who could use Jim’s training methods. “Hi Sally, my name is Jim and I overheard you talking about your diet, I just wanted to give you some information on my gym and where we are located and if you have any questions please let me know, my contact information is on the brochure.”

Once you’ve identified what you are selling, it is easy to work on how you are going to sell and to whom. But what happens once you’ve identified the “what” and the “who?”  You move onto the next part of the equation DEEP to add the next layer of persuasion.

DEEP

How many of us envision ourselves hiking up a beautiful mountain, the sun on our faces and enjoying the rewards of being outdoors? Or see ourselves working out on a new piece of equipment that’s built to be used while at work? We have all seen the advertisements on television, but it’s easy to forget the words once the commercial is over since the physical response of actually seeing or trying out the product hasn’t swayed your opinion.

So you go “DEEP,” try to be as thorough as possible by demonstrating, explaining, executing and practicing your topic of persuasion. Without this next layer the selling and closing is simply words that can be easily forgotten.

Demonstrate

Show them exactly what they’d be doing, and why you’re a great personal trainer to be working with. Everybody loves a physical demonstration, whether you are demonstrating the proper technique for leg lifts or letting the client play on the equipment themselves, demonstration allows the person to get into the physical setting of a product. If you are working on a new training program, show them a couple of the exercises, or perhaps you are trying to persuade a healthy eating style, give examples of meals and show them what maybe you carry around with you as a snack

Jim demonstrates some free-weight lifting for Sally to show her how to incorporate some variety into her work out routine. He lifts the weights and twists for the abdominal workouts and shows Sally how he uses the free weights to help him even during his stretching.

Physical demonstrations can also be visual stimulation, perhaps Jim met Sally in the grocery store and he can’t demonstrate or physically explain his work-outs and what he is describing in the baking isle. So instead he gets her contact information and sends her and e-mail with pictures of his Gym and workout routines that Sally can view or perhaps visit his website via a link in the e-mail.

Through demonstration you are not only showing the client, but encouraging them to think about what they’ll be asked to do and how they can incorporate those tasks or products.  For many the demonstration will be all they need, they’ll see and understand, for others they’ll want more, the demonstration will be nice but they won’t really understand what you want them to do; this leads you on to the explanation.

Explain

Tell them why they want to be using your training methods or following your specific exercise program. It’s one thing to try out a product and like how it feels or looks and another thing to completely understand its benefits. Jim can tell Sally every different cooking method he has tried to avoid using the grill and still get the same great taste without the unhealthy side effects, but unless Sally knows why Jim doesn’t want to grill his food, she isn’t going to be willing to incorporate those same changes into her lifestyle.

By explaining the reasons for using the product, training method or program you are giving your client all of the information they’ll need to reinforce their mind set when frustration sets in after that first week. We all have played on the gym equipment, tried a new diet or perhaps decided to take up a new sport only to feel frustrated after the first week. We ask ourselves, “Why did I do this?” and can’t answer because it was never really explained; we just assume that we bought “what” was sold to us. By explaining, you allow the client to understand how it works and why they should use it which will help to eliminate that first week frustration that inevitably comes around.

As Jim performs his demonstrations for his new techniques he explains why it is important to lift first, or to make sure that his feet are properly balanced and spread apart. He may explain why it is good to start with a lower weight and work his way up to heavier weights. Small things that Jim may take for granted as common knowledge still need to be explained since Sally may not have the same common knowledge base as Jim.

Jim explains about the unhealthy side effects grilling or overcooked meat can have on the body and references articles he has read and research he has performed, Sally now understands why grilling can be unhealthy and may decide to adopt a healthier cooking style.

Explanation can easily be used as you demonstrate, they don’t need to be performed in sequence but by combining them give the client an overall viewpoint of the product, method or lifestyle change being suggested without overwhelming them with information. Yelling out information as you demonstrate a technique or attempting to shove pamphlets of information into a customers hand while selling a product will only aggravate them, there are situations where you need to wait to explain until after you have demonstrated; and once demonstration and execution have been completed successfully, it’s time to execute the final stages of DEEP.

Execute

Try it out—show you’re an expert. You’ve allowed the client to play on all of your gym equipment and have even demonstrated how it works; now give them the full execution. Take them through a typical workout, or typical day using your training program.

Jim allows Sally to come to his Gym and work out on some of his equipment on one of her regular working days; he re-demonstrates techniques and answers questions she may have about one of the machines. He has asked her to fill out a typical meal plan that she would eat so that he can work on a routine that is specific to Sally and attempts to make her feel like she is all ready a member a the gym.

Remember, you are the expert on what you’re selling so make sure you can show your client the nuances and details of the product that a demonstration doesn’t cover. Show them the settings on various machines that they may have missed, or different techniques as part of your expert level training program that they can work toward; the goal is to get them excited about the product and keep them excited.

Perhaps Sally still isn’t sure she wants to change her eating habits and feels that although Jim’s demonstration and explanation were thorough, she still isn’t sure if this drastic of a lifestyle change is for her. Jim offers to create a meal plan for Sally base on foods she likes to eat and creates it for one week. As he creates the meal plan he continues to explain why certain foods are good and others won’t work for her based on her current lifestyle. Continual explanation may be needed and each step in DEEP can be performed again and again based on the customer needs, the final step practice though is where you should show your confidence in what you are selling the most.

Practice

Put SHEEPP-C into action (see SHEEPP-C section). Give them something to do, they’ve played, seen demonstrations, even had every detail of your product explained, now let them take it home.

While Sally still isn’t sure she wants the meal plan portion of Jim’s program she likes the gym and the workout routine Jim has devised for her. She decides to use a 30 day membership to practice the workout and see if the meal plan could fit her lifestyle.

Giving a 30 day trial period allows clients to try out a product or training program and see if it actually fits the clients need. Not only does this show your confidence in what you are selling, but it builds the clients confidence as well so that they are willing to make the product or lifestyle change fit. If your program doesn’t fit a 30day trial period, then give them a few hours to practice, the point is to show how confident you are in your methods or products ability.

Sally decides to incorporate Jim’s meal plan and has been attempting to cook some of the meals he has recommended, Jim calls her every day to make sure she doesn’t have any questions and that she is following the meal plan. Although he plans to call every day the first week, he is hoping that if Sally sticks with the new change he’ll be able to schedule weekly meetings versus the daily check-up he performs.

One key thing to remember with practice is that it is up to Sally to continue to perform this step, but your job as a trainer and seller to continue to check in and reassure your client. Only then can you make the sale and move on to the final layer of the equation, the closing section.

Close

Tell them what their next step should be; don’t leave it open ended as a “here, take the product and go.” Many lifestyle changes, training programs, or products that are sold without the close part of the equation are the ones that get called “Fads” or dropped when the frustration sets in. If you’ve put this much into the equation why not add the last part, motivation and support for the client to continue to use the product.

Jim continues to meet with Sally on a weekly basis and discusses with her the program she is using and how the meal plan is working for her. Sally may not realize it but after the second month she has incorporated Jim’s program into her lifestyle and moved from a gym membership to a personal trainer.

Not every sale is an overnight success; it may take time to get a client to buy a product. How often have we bought something that we got to play with, were excited about and then given up because we weren’t sure what the next step was when we had a problem? Large gym memberships are often this way; you see the advertisement, you get to come and try out the gym membership and play on all of the equipment, but then when after weeks of attending the gym without results, we stop going to the gym.

Perhaps Jim has sold Sally an elliptical trainer for her home, after her 30 day trial period, Jim should call and check in on Sally, find out if the machine is working to her expectations and answer any questions Sally may have. Jim should also continue to send Thank-you cards, or other reminders for Sally through the mail as a reminder that his company is there should she need them.

It may seem a small thing, but closing doesn’t necessarily mean all contact should stop, try to think long term and keep a customer for life by simple reassurances such as the thank-you card. It is something the client will remember the next time they are looking for a new product or perhaps need a change to their training routine.

Conclusion

Once you’ve shown them that you understand their unique situation, and that this is a program that could really benefit them, you can close. The important thing is not to leave it open—“Think about it and I’ll get back to you,” is an example of something a bad salesman would say.

Give them a timeline and lay out their options. Jim gave Sally a meal plan and a 30 day membership for her to try out her options, and this may not always work, but by creating a timeline or schedule for the customer you show flexibility and confidence in your product.

Give them a few options of specific blocks of time (you don’t want to make it sound like your schedule is wide open!), and set it up as a regular thing. Take their unique needs into consideration. If they’re a student, they’re probably tight on money, so address that. They shouldn’t have to ask, you want to be prepared for the next step. The bottom line is to make it sound like you’re experienced and have been doing this for years. 

Jim may have only incorporated his healthy cooking methods as part of his program for a few months, but by be prepared and having his research ready and understanding his topic he was able to explain and incorporate a healthy meal plan for Sally without cutting out foods she loved.

If you get to the point where you would ordinarily make the close and haven’t, start over, and build them back up. Play with their perceptions. If they’re worried that this program is too expensive, talk about other programs that are even more expensive and make your program look cheap by comparison (see Perception is Reality). And even if they end up saying no, which you’ll probably be able to tell, make it sound like you’re in control of the choice. Maybe refer them to a less strenuous, less time-consuming activity or another gym that you think will suit their needs. Don’t make ridiculous claims or references to places you know the customer won’t be happy, in giving references or loosing a potential client, be smart. Give them the advice you would want to hear and know that if it is good advice, they may come back to you again as a potential client for another product or refer other clients to you in remembrance of the service they received. In the end, you will have portrayed yourself as good at what you do, and they’ll remember that.

One day, when I was in the African village of Embu, doing some work for my Charity Water for Africa, which builds wells and provides villages with clean water, I noticed a group of about 20 children playing soccer. Suddenly I got an idea; I reached into my backpack and pulled out a Frisbee. Immediately, a little boy named Duante came over to see what I was doing. I tossed it directly to him. This amused him because of the way it floated on the air he thought it was from another planet or something. He tried to return it to me, but couldn’t quite throw it. He ended up rolling it along the ground. I tossed it to him again and this time he threw it back. Although it didn’t make it all the way, it was much better than his first attempt. As we continued to toss the Frisbee back and forth, other children crowed around to watch. Suddenly, Gamba, the leader of the group, came up and asked Duante if he could play too. Gamba caught on to the game quickly, and soon the three of us were passing back and forth to each other. Within ten minutes, other children trickled into the game.

             After watching the kids play the game for a few more days, I noticed that Gamba was getting bored. I decided to teach him some tricks like the underdog and around the back. He practiced these for about two weeks, until he had become almost as good as me; he could even do forward and underhanded passes. But after about a month of group Frisbee and more advanced tricks, he started to get bored again.

            To help him learn and stay interested, I pulled out a second Frisbee, and taught him and the other children how to play Ultimate Frisbee. Once again, I saw the group’s enthusiasm for learning, and just like before, Gamba excelled at the game. Before long, his skills were far better then the rest of the children’s and he began showing them how to improve their techniques.

            One day, Gamba had to travel to Lamu, a village that was about twenty miles away. Before he left, I gave him a Frisbee. This made him very happy, and when he got to the village, he taught the children how to play Frisbee, just like I had with him a couple of months before. Of course, the new group of kids was fascinated with the Frisbee. Much like the first group, they quickly caught on to the concept of passing back and forth. When Gamba felt that they had mastered it, he taught them tricks, and then Ultimate Frisbee.

            When Gamba finally come back home, he brought a surprise with him- his Ultimate Frisbee team. Since he had trained the children from Lamu to play Ultimate Frisbee, he wanted to set up a tournament between the two villages. All of the children were thrilled, especially Duante, the first little boy I played Frisbee with.  Although he was excited to have the opportunity to play in the tournament, he felt a bit nervous and worried that he would forget some of the moves he had learned. The next day, the two teams played in their first tournament and Gamba served as the referee. The team I trained won, but Gamba’s team played very well too.

            Using the Ultimate Frisbee story, let’s take a look at how you can apply SHEEPP-C with your own clients. Remember, your goal is to take them from clients to trainers.

Show- just like I showed Duante how to play Frisbee, you will want to show your client what to do, so they get the basic idea of the activity. This should take one or two minutes.

Hear- when Gamba first came over, he stood for a while and listened to Duante and I play before he joined in. When you are training someone, they will hear what you are saying and get a feel for what they are supposed to do. The hearing phase should take about three minutes.

Explore- when Gamba first threw the Frisbee, he was exploring. In the explore stage your clients tries out the activity you have just shown them. Depending on their skills, this should take about five minutes.

Explain- once Gamba and Duante had a chance to practice the basic act of passing the Frisbee back and forth, I took time to work with them to explain proper form and other ways to play the game. In this stage, you will give close, hands-on instruction to help your client with the proper technique for the exercises you’ve just had them do.

The Explore and Explain stages are interchangeable and depend on your client’s learning style. Some people like to jump right in, but others need detailed explanation first.

Practice- in the story, Gamba spent the majority of his time practicing. First, he practiced the basics, then the more advanced moves, and finally Ultimate Frisbee. At each stage, he spent longer amounts of time practicing. This is the stage where your client will spend the most amount of time. Practice will include performing the exercises until he or she gets them right and building on them by doing harder, more challenging exercises. You want to balance how long your client spends doing the same thing because, like Gamba, once they become good at it, they will quickly become bored.

Performance- Duante and the children who were in the tournament were given the opportunity to showcase their skills, and perform to see who was best. In this stage, your client will compete and apply everything they have learned. It’s not unusual for them to be nervous, have anxiety, or even forget a few things they learned during practice.  However, people who are successful in competition and in life are those that learn from their experiences and improve.

Coach- remembers how Gamba went to Lamu and formed an Ultimate Frisbee team? He was essentially their coach. In the final step, once your client has mastered their skills and competed a bit, you want them to teach/coach someone else. If they teach others, their success will have a trickle down effect and they will become even better themselves. Think back to SHEEPP-C climbing the mountain, not only do you want to get up, but you also want to pull someone else up. When you both reach the summit, the accomplishment is that much better.

These are the goals I like to accomplish with workouts:
1) Always have fun
2) Make a friend
3) Learn something new
4) Get motivated for the next workout
5) Get an awesome workout!

If you can get these concepts across in your lesson, then you will be successful. Too often do I see trainers only achieving one of these five elements. Most times they only give an awesome workout. This is all too easy to do. For example, you could have your clients lift a ton of weights until they’re exhausted, or have them go on a 2 mile run.

Instead, I want to implement a program where the following happens: